With tryout season underway here in the United States it’s a great opportunity to look at what it takes to skate on the top teams in the country. Get It Called conducted a survey of 64 skaters from all six competitive U.S. senior teams from the 2017-2018 season. Hopefully this information will help anyone who wants to be on a senior team understand the commitment of skating at that level. All the responses to this survey were voluntary. The information presented below is based on the information from the survey and discussions with skaters from the 2017-2018 senior team rosters.
The days each team practiced during a typical practice schedule as part of the 2017-2018 season
Practice schedules can affect a skater’s class schedule, work schedule or the distance they are willing to commute to practice; so it is important to take this into consideration when deciding to try out for a team. Last season, each team established their practice schedule to fit the needs of their skaters. Miami University Senior Varsity Synchronized Skating Team and Adrian College Varsity Synchronized Skating Team are both varsity programs at their respective schools, so all the skaters on those teams are student-athletes taking a full course load of college credits. Due to this, the teams practice in such a way to allow their students plenty of time to study and attend classes. Miami University Senior Varsity Synchronized Skating Team practices during the week. They have ice time and off the ice in morning and evening to avoid class times. Adrian College Varsity Synchronized Skating Team also has to balance practice time around classes, but they practice Mondays-Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Both teams have an opportunity to practice many times during the week because the entire team is based in the same location for the duration of the school year
Other teams have a different practice schedule set up because their members are more spread out and they have to plan accordingly. California Gold takes L.A. traffic and ice costs into consideration. With fewer rinks per capita compared to other parts of the country, the team has to battle the local hockey teams for ice time, so they take advantage of early morning slots on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Crystallettes also have many skaters who are working or are students at various schools in the area, so they practice on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The average commute time for this team is approximately 1 hour which shows that many skaters come from the greater Detroit area and are willing to travel to skate for the team.
Skyliners has many skaters with lengthy commutes. In 2013-2014 multiple skaters even flew to practice from Minnesota following Pam May across the country to join Skyliners. Now, the team has skaters who live, work or go to school as far north as Lake Placid and as far south as Philadelphia making the average commute approximately 2 hours, with the longest being 5 hours. The coaches consider the demands of being a student/employee and a skater and have scheduled practices on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays which allows many skaters to stay with their teammates over the weekend or stay in a hotel to reduce the time it takes to get to practice
Practicing individually is also a big part of training at the top level due to the fact that there is only so much ice time teams can dedicate to improving individual skills. It is important to improve one’s own technical skating and performance as much as possible individually so that when the team does practice, the main focus can be on the overall look of the team.
With tryout season underway, teams are looking for the best skaters to join their organization. With the forever changing synchronized skating scene, who knows how many teams are going to be in each division each year. As the demands to keep up rise, the athleticism, dedication, and passion of all the skaters who reach for the top can be seen every year. Even if a skater is currently skating at a developmental level, there are ways for them to push themselves to be better and enjoy the fun of being on a team at the same time. Everything a senior skater does to improve stems from their love of skating and the best way to develop that is to enjoy every step of the way.